I finally got around to taking the figure out of the box and updating/upgrading it.
I had the extra Asmus Slim Aragorn head sculpt waiting, as well as a pair of spare hands from the same figure. I used a knockoff true type body and removed the feet.
Popped off the original Art Figures head sculpt (hideous...) and did the same to the boots. That's when I found that the connectors to the "feet" were completely different to the true type. I swapped the outfit over to the new body and tossed the old body in the trash can. For some reason, I've saved the hideous original head sculpt...
The outfit is well done but there were a couple of issues I ran into:
1. The red outer tunic sleeves needed to be trimmed in order to not bunch up inside the bracers.
2. The outer black outfit seemed to be heavily weathered. I rubbed a cotton swab with water around those areas to remove the weathering some. Seemed to help.
3. The buttons on the red outer tunic and the outer black outfit were frustrating to work with. The ones on the red tunic were supposed to work somewhat like buttons. I couldn't get even one to work so gave up, as the black outfit would cover them up, anyways. Unfortunately, the black outfit had two "pins" that are supposed to snap into little holes on the other side. They barely held, as long as you didn't look at them too much... My hope is that when Asmus finally comes around to releasing their version of this figure, they'll have a completely different approach to the outfit.
As for the boots, I ended up just stuffing the footless legs into the boots and used a spare Asmus LOTR stand to hold up the figure.
I hope to one day soon work on the hair and get it looking like it did in the film. I just wasn't ready to tackle that aspect yet, especially after dealing with the buttons/snaps of the tunics...
And yet, I do like how it's come out, so far. For an 8 year old outfit and accessories, it's not bad looking at all. I'm sure Asmus will be able to take it to the next level in accuracy and detailing, so until that figure arrives, this one will stand in its place.